Although this topic has been briefly covered in the forums over the years, instead of reviving an old thread, I have decided to create a new one purely for showcasing the toned coins in the collections of Numista members.
Toned coins - a patina formed over time due to exposure to environmental elements, including moisture and various chemicals. Although technically considered damage to the coin's surface, many collectors appreciate the unique appearance toning provides and character it shows, as opposed to blast-white coins.
I will start this thread with my toned Australian 1937 crown, made of .925 silver.
Great idea, my location in Auckland New Zealand is a warm humid climate and thus everything tones here.
My guess was this was shipped out to the colonies straight away. Despite the tone, ist nearly AU
This half crown found a radical way to work on its tan and someone decided to smear “Silvio” on it and then gave up.
More coming later.
I love coins. Especially silver, gold and anything really old.
Member of the Royal Numismatic Society of New Zealand and the Auckland Numismatic Society
That coin is great and it is UNC - you can tell, no wear on the shell, mace or orb on His Majesty's crown!
Mine is AU but has some great toning as well!
Photo not so clear, but there is purplish brown edging on reverse and blackish gold on obv.
1911 Proof Halfcrown, amazing toning here and shows up better on mirrored surfaces (I have given up trying to take good photos)
More of the same on the shilling, the top part of the Kings head is a pinkish red in real life.
Every coin in this set is a stunner, but the Muandy 3d is the best of the lot!
Words can't describe the colour explosion on these pieces and they have that musty velvet and camphorated wood smell!
Drink it in (IM94) what your real name as you love calling me Tane for some reason!
An example of a much older and more worn toned coin, this 1696 Bristol Mint halfcrown has a black edge with a yellowish - olive tone now nearly covering a whole coin. Here is what happens when you let something tone for three and a quarter centuries!
I love coins. Especially silver, gold and anything really old.
Member of the Royal Numismatic Society of New Zealand and the Auckland Numismatic Society
Normaly british coins are not my subject, this is my oldest and for the next 100 years i have only one further british coin. Bought it only because of its condition.
That coin is great and it is UNC - you can tell, no wear on the shell, mace or orb on His Majesty's crown!
Mine is AU but has some great toning as well!
Photo not so clear, but there is purplish brown edging on reverse and blackish gold on obv.
1911 Proof Halfcrown, amazing toning here and shows up better on mirrored surfaces (I have given up trying to take good photos)
More of the same on the shilling, the top part of the Kings head is a pinkish red in real life.
Every coin in this set is a stunner, but the Muandy 3d is the best of the lot!
Words can't describe the colour explosion on these pieces and they have that musty velvet and camphorated wood smell!
Drink it in (IM94) what your real name as you love calling me Tane for some reason!
An example of a much older and more worn toned coin, this 1696 Bristol Mint halfcrown has a black edge with a yellowish - olive tone now nearly covering a whole coin. Here is what happens when you let something tone for three and a quarter centuries!
Thank you, I am glad you like it - it is certainly one of my favourite coin designs Australia has ever produced. As you probably already know, upon release, these coins proved to be quite popular, and were hoarded by the public as souvenirs. For this reason, the majority are found in VF or better, and quite often have 8 pearls. Yours is a very nice example, I do love the toning on it!
Those 1911 proofs are very nice, all of the obverses in particular have some great colour. I am sure they have some great toning in person.
I am not sure how some people do it with their photos! Although I generally stay away from graded coins, I do absolutely love the photos PCGS and recently NGC produce for their coins!
My name is Zander, I didn’t realise I used your name so much!
Lovely half crown too, I am always impressed seeing coins from this era that have a fair bit of detail left like yours! That olive toning gives it a nice look.
Thank you very much! I do agree, it is very nice. 😃
To be honest, it is probably not a coin I would really consider selling/ trading at this current point in time, but I will certainly let you know if I ever do.
If you are after eye appeal, I do have a few other toned 1927 Canberras, but not as nice as this one, sadly. Let me know if you want to see them.
Normaly british coins are not my subject, this is my oldest and for the next 100 years i have only one further british coin. Bought it only because of its condition.
Beautiful dark toning, I reckon it suits coins from this era so much more than white and shiny!
Here’s another toned coin of mine, this time a British one.
1853 Maundy Fourpence
This coin has some rainbow toning on both sides. Maundy coins from this year were struck in half proof and half proof-like from the mintage of 4158(?), I believe.
That is amazing, still has its new coin sheen too!
1820 Half crown, likely cleaned 40 - 60 years ago, but tone is coming back giving an all over glow, plus add a dose of Auckland humidity.
Some great tones on this 1894 Late Victorian gingerbread design masterpiece.
I find my best toned coins are the EF/AU ones as opposed to UNC - but some Proofs are always nice too.
I love coins. Especially silver, gold and anything really old.
Member of the Royal Numismatic Society of New Zealand and the Auckland Numismatic Society
That is amazing, still has its new coin sheen too!
1820 Half crown, likely cleaned 40 - 60 years ago, but tone is coming back giving an all over glow, plus add a dose of Auckland humidity.
Some great tones on this 1894 Late Victorian gingerbread design masterpiece.
I find my best toned coins are the EF/AU ones as opposed to UNC - but some Proofs are always nice too.
Wow, that 1820 half crown is incredible, I’m sure that one cost a lot. The toning is very attractive, how it is darker around the devices, making them stand out more.
I have always liked the toning on this Australian (yep, another one) threepence and sixpence of mine. The threepence has a little bit of a ‘bitten edge’ or clip at 5 o’clock, which gives it a bit of character. Both have some great detail, especially on the emus’ feathers.
In Vic currently. A few gold detecting enthusiasts in the family. So naturally we collect coins, and metal thing's that are pretty. Being the younger enthusiast I often get family collections or inherit parts of. The older gen kinda just sorted and threw stuff in drawers. I've only just recently started cataloguing and sorting through a lot.
In Vic currently. A few gold detecting enthusiasts in the family. So naturally we collect coins, and metal thing's that are pretty. Being the younger enthusiast I often get family collections or inherit parts of. The older gen kinda just sorted and threw stuff in drawers. I've only just recently started cataloguing and sorting through a lot.
That’s awesome, I’m in Victoria as well. Have you done much detecting yourself? I’d love to see what other coins you have.
Lovely half franc! It looks like it is in great condition too, it’s always nice to see coins from this era that haven’t been touched by circulation much or cleaning.
I don’t mean to flood this thread with more Australian coins, but here are a few more that might be of interest. These Australian half pennies (1961Perth) are from one of a few original uncirculated rolls I opened a few years back.
Every single one the coins look incredible! The majority of them have rainbow toning like these. I assume that the paper they were rolled in for all of those decades was rich in sulphur, which was the cause of the toning?
Lovely half franc! It looks like it is in great condition too, it’s always nice to see coins from this era that haven’t been touched by circulation much or cleaning.
I don’t mean to flood this thread with more Australian coins, but here are a few more that might be of interest. These Australian half pennies (1961Perth) are from one of a few original uncirculated rolls I opened a few years back.
Every single one the coins look incredible! The majority of them have rainbow toning like these. I assume that the paper they were rolled in for all of those decades was rich in sulphur, which was the cause of the toning?
Those are sweet, and to have a whole roll worth of them toned like this? That’s awesome
It's big brother as well, sadly someone tried to clean it off!
I love coins. Especially silver, gold and anything really old.
Member of the Royal Numismatic Society of New Zealand and the Auckland Numismatic Society
Those are sweet, and to have a whole roll worth of them toned like this? That’s awesome
Thanks! Yeah I’m pretty happy with them, there are some real nice ones that were inside - all uncirculated too. I do still have another roll of the same year/ mint, I will keep that one sealed though.
Mine has “reasonable” toning, especially on edges - I suspect this bare EF coin hasn't been cleaned.
This one must be the lovechild conceived before Mr and Mrs Sovereign got married? 🤣
Bit of toning on fields, otherwise the big boy had a sheltered life and looks 60 on a bad day for this 137 year old coin.
1887 is a year I intend to get each type of coin from.
For Young Heads I just need the 3 pence and half sovereign (I have a 1887S YH Sovereign)
Jubilee Heads I have it all but the gold and that includes both sixpences
All 3 bronze coins too.
I love coins. Especially silver, gold and anything really old.
Member of the Royal Numismatic Society of New Zealand and the Auckland Numismatic Society
Any gold £2 and £5 coins would be nice, just so expensive, well above their gold value. The Sovs and halves at least can be bought near gold value for most dates (That is still nearly $1,000 of our money for a sovereign).
The closest I can get is my $10 Pukaki coin is the size and weight of a gold £5 piece. The coin contains almost 37 grams of GOLD! A historic rather than modern £5 coin would be preferable (Modern is 1980 or later proof and bullion issues) and 1887 is fairly affordable along with 1893, 1902 and 1911 whereas earlier coins and 1937/53 are freakin expensive.
It will be a while Zander as I have only just incorporated gold into my collections and all my sovs and halves are more common dates or worn ones.
This 1829 Halfcrown in near VF condition has that Olive colour that comes not long after the last lustre has disappeared.
This VF 1906 Edward also has a nice tone and detail is protected by a good strike and nice rim.
I love coins. Especially silver, gold and anything really old.
Member of the Royal Numismatic Society of New Zealand and the Auckland Numismatic Society
Any gold £2 and £5 coins would be nice, just so expensive, well above their gold value. The Sovs and halves at least can be bought near gold value for most dates (That is still nearly $1,000 of our money for a sovereign).
The closest I can get is my $10 Pukaki coin is the size and weight of a gold £5 piece. The coin contains almost 37 grams of GOLD! A historic rather than modern £5 coin would be preferable (Modern is 1980 or later proof and bullion issues) and 1887 is fairly affordable along with 1893, 1902 and 1911 whereas earlier coins and 1937/53 are freakin expensive.
It will be a while Zander as I have only just incorporated gold into my collections and all my sovs and halves are more common dates or worn ones.
This 1829 Halfcrown in near VF condition has that Olive colour that comes not long after the last lustre has disappeared.
This VF 1906 Edward also has a nice tone and detail is protected by a good strike and nice rim.
Yep, maybe one day. Silver is the best I can do for the moment, gold is just too expensive for my budget. I am quite pleased with some of the silver coins I have acquired over the years, though.
37 grams of gold is stupendous!
I would love to get some Queen Victorian sovereigns or half sovereigns from the 1850s - 1870s, even cleaned, holed, or bent. Just some examples from the gold rush era of Victoria, as I find it all so fascinating.
You have some very impressive half crowns, I always like seeing ones I haven’t seen of yours!
I cannot contribute much in terms of toned half crowns, but I do have this nice threepence with some rich, dark toning on it. Personally, I love this kind of toning. Coin still has some detail left too.
Those are sweet, and to have a whole roll worth of them toned like this? That’s awesome
Thanks! Yeah I’m pretty happy with them, there are some real nice ones that were inside - all uncirculated too. I do still have another roll of the same year/ mint, I will keep that one sealed though.
Awesome! Hell yeah man, thats sick. Congrats on those rolls
Those are sweet, and to have a whole roll worth of them toned like this? That’s awesome
Thanks! Yeah I’m pretty happy with them, there are some real nice ones that were inside - all uncirculated too. I do still have another roll of the same year/ mint, I will keep that one sealed though.
Awesome! Hell yeah man, thats sick. Congrats on those rolls
Thanks!
Really nice half crown there. I love that rainbow toning, particularly on the reverse. There have been some really nice toned coins shown on this thread.
Those are sweet, and to have a whole roll worth of them toned like this? That’s awesome
Thanks! Yeah I’m pretty happy with them, there are some real nice ones that were inside - all uncirculated too. I do still have another roll of the same year/ mint, I will keep that one sealed though.
Awesome! Hell yeah man, thats sick. Congrats on those rolls
Thanks!
Really nice half crown there. I love that rainbow toning, particularly on the reverse. There have been some really nice toned coins shown on this thread.
Thanks.
And yeah, there’s some awesome coins that have been shown off. I love looking through threads like these
Figured I should also add my 1911 3 Mark, as it does get a decent bit of attention when I’ve showed it off to some other people
Those are stunners Mr Midnight, those Canadian dollars are great for toning. Just made me remember about these
38 - High VF historically cleaned.
Ireland - Padraig Pearse 10 shilling, light gold toning on this UNC coin
1941 Irish halfcrown, washed out photo - but crazy weird toning!
Palestine 50 mils, EF and very heavily toned (Very hot dry climate).
100 mils - Olivery tone.
I love coins. Especially silver, gold and anything really old.
Member of the Royal Numismatic Society of New Zealand and the Auckland Numismatic Society
I almost never purchase coins this modern, (or from this side of the world) but the toning on this Canadian 1964 Quarter caught my eye! I did actually show this coin a few months back on the ‘acquisitions’ threads.
I believe this to be from a BU/ ‘proof-like’ set, as opposed to a standard proof, from memory.
1864 Maundy penny - practically UNC and some great tone with a proof/proof like finish - dig that hair detail. What I love about these tiny coins (Maundy pennies are 10.7mm in size and weigh 0.47 grams) is the dies have to be intricate and you see how the lettering looks quite crude and bespoke, as its so small (Under 1mm letters) yet Victoria's portrait is excellent and a great lot of green/gold tone for this 160 year old pin size coin.
But its not as nice as your Maundy 4pence Zander! That coin is a blinger!
Uruguay 50 centesimos 1894 - Black, olive tone and VF to EF grade - 130 years baking under the South American sun.
I love coins. Especially silver, gold and anything really old.
Member of the Royal Numismatic Society of New Zealand and the Auckland Numismatic Society
1864 Maundy penny - practically UNC and some great tone with a proof/proof like finish - dig that hair detail. What I love about these tiny coins (Maundy pennies are 10.7mm in size and weigh 0.47 grams) is the dies have to be intricate and you see how the lettering looks quite crude and bespoke, as its so small (Under 1mm letters) yet Victoria's portrait is excellent and a great lot of green/gold tone for this 160 year old pin size coin.
But its not as nice as your Maundy 4pence Zander! That coin is a blinger!
Uruguay 50 centesimos 1894 - Black, olive tone and VF to EF grade - 130 years baking under the South American sun.
Lovely maundy penny! That is an absolutely gorgeous example, really well struck for a coin this size, with virtually no wear evident!
Thank you very much, I’m glad you like the fourpence. I purchased it quite a few years back on eBay. The photos were not amazing (blurry) and didn’t show any of the toning at all, so I was very pleased with how it looked when I got it in hand!
Have a look at some of the ‘Trueview’ photos from the PCGS website of the maundy coins from this era. Some of the toning on them is incredible, I don’t know how they take such good photos!
1864 Maundy penny - practically UNC and some great tone with a proof/proof like finish - dig that hair detail. What I love about these tiny coins (Maundy pennies are 10.7mm in size and weigh 0.47 grams) is the dies have to be intricate and you see how the lettering looks quite crude and bespoke, as its so small (Under 1mm letters) yet Victoria's portrait is excellent and a great lot of green/gold tone for this 160 year old pin size coin.
But its not as nice as your Maundy 4pence Zander! That coin is a blinger!
Uruguay 50 centesimos 1894 - Black, olive tone and VF to EF grade - 130 years baking under the South American sun.
Lovely maundy penny! That is an absolutely gorgeous example, really well struck for a coin this size, with virtually no wear evident!
I’m glad you like the fourpence, I purchased it quite a few years back on eBay. The photos were not amazing (blurry) and didn’t show any of the toning at all, so I was very pleased with how it looked when I got it in hand!
Have a look at some of the ‘Trueview’ photos from the PCGS website of the maundy coins from this era. Some of the toning on them is incredible, I don’t know how they take such good photos!
And yeah, there’s some awesome coins that have been shown off. I love looking through threads like these
Figured I should also add my 1911 3 Mark, as it does get a decent bit of attention when I’ve showed it off to some other people
I must have missed this one sorry. Beautiful coin, I can see why it gets a bit of attention.
That toning is quite interesting, I believe I have seen it described as ‘tape toning’ before? You would probably know more about it than me, as it seems to be a lot more prevalent on some of the US coins - particularly Morgan and Peace dollars.
That toning reminds me a lot of this coin I have. This one is nowhere near as nice as yours, (having been holed) but has toned in almost the same way as your three marks coin!
And yeah, there’s some awesome coins that have been shown off. I love looking through threads like these
Figured I should also add my 1911 3 Mark, as it does get a decent bit of attention when I’ve showed it off to some other people
I must have missed this one sorry. Beautiful coin, I can see why it gets a bit of attention.
That toning is quite interesting, I believe I have seen it described as ‘tape toning’ before? You would probably know more about it than me, as it seems to be a lot more prevalent on some of the US coins - particularly Morgan and Peace dollars.
That toning reminds me a lot of this coin I have. This one is nowhere near as nice as yours, (having been holed) but has toned in almost the same way as your three marks coin!
No problem, you’re good lmao. And thanks! Sweet 1859 Tuscany you posted earlier as well, I just might have to see if I can snag one for myself, sometime. Thanks for showing that
And yep, Tape Toning. There’s also examples where it’s like a square or a rectangle that doesn’t fully reach over the entire coin, and most of those are from stickers, as back in the day people used to stick stickers to coins with their details on it to advertise their businesses. Illegal now, but still cool, I think.
And you’re definitely right about how a bunch of Morgan’s and Peace dollars turn up with this sort of toning. Not quite sure why, but I’d guess people used to tape them into holders to keep them from escaping. That’s just a guess though, and if anyone else in the thread knows more, feel free to chip in, I like learning more.
Thats a nice half franc though, apart from being holed! I quite like how it’s aged and worn down, I think it looks cool.
I have this 50 Pesos from Argentina that has some pretty cool toning on it, as well. Not too sure what to call it as I’ve only recently had it added to my collection, but it’s cool nonetheless
Here's a pretty nifty Double Florin I got from a Numista swap last year! I suspect that cleaning has occurred at some point--though I'm far from an expert on such things--but this here photograph I took a while back captures the most stunning view I've ever gotten on it!
And below are somewhat less flattering/sugar-coaty photos but still I think it's a pretty nice piece, particularly for it being such a rare type!
Here's a pretty nifty Double Florin I got from a Numista swap last year! I suspect that cleaning has occurred at some point--though I'm far from an expert on such things--but this here photograph I took a while back captures the most stunning view I've ever gotten on it!
And below are somewhat less flattering/sugar-coaty photos but still I think it's a pretty nice piece, particularly for it being such a rare type!
I am not so convinced about cleaning. That tone is amazing, I think you have what we call “Uncirculated coin” syndrome and possibly lack of major colour changing is you live in a cooler or drier climate with low humidity.
Most of mine and Zander's coins are like that, as we live in northern New Zealand and Australia, which have humid subtropical climates that cause tone to appear very easily.
I love coins. Especially silver, gold and anything really old.
Member of the Royal Numismatic Society of New Zealand and the Auckland Numismatic Society
Interesting, I have a few tape pattern coins, the best one is a swiss franc
The photo barely show up the stripe across Ferdinand's face.
ixx_grid
And yep, Tape Toning. There’s also examples where it’s like a square or a rectangle that doesn’t fully reach over the entire coin, and most of those are from stickers, as back in the day people used to stick stickers to coins with their details on it to advertise their businesses. Illegal now, but still cool, I think.
And you’re definitely right about how a bunch of Morgan’s and Peace dollars turn up with this sort of toning. Not quite sure why, but I’d guess people used to tape them into holders to keep them from escaping. That’s just a guess though, and if anyone else in the thread knows more, feel free to chip in, I like learning more.
That is really interesting about the tape toning ixx_grid, thanks for the information. I will have to look more into it, maybe even get a nice example of it for my collection.
I suppose that would make sense about people securing them into holders, kind of like the hinges on stamps people use. Is it typically the entirety of the coin besides where the tape was that is toned, or can the tape be the source of the toning? Like a white coin with a tone square.
Thanks for showing those examples Mr. Midnight, that 1 franc is a great example of tape toning.
Here's a pretty nifty Double Florin I got from a Numista swap last year! I suspect that cleaning has occurred at some point--though I'm far from an expert on such things--but this here photograph I took a while back captures the most stunning view I've ever gotten on it!
And below are somewhat less flattering/sugar-coaty photos but still I think it's a pretty nice piece, particularly for it being such a rare type!
I am not so convinced about cleaning. That tone is amazing, I think you have what we call “Uncirculated coin” syndrome and possibly lack of major colour changing is you live in a cooler or drier climate with low humidity.
Most of mine and Zander's coins are like that, as we live in northern New Zealand and Australia, which have humid subtropical climates that cause tone to appear very easily.
That is one good looking double florin!
You are right about that Tane, especially the British coins from this era and earlier that were sent to the colonies as currency. They develop some lovely colours.
As you said, a couple decades in the hot sun in our part of the world and the subtropical climate will do that to a coin, I suppose.
I was looking through some of the earlier posts on this thread and saw your 1911 proofs, Moneytane. Yours are absolutely beautiful, I wish I could own the full set one day.
Here is my proof British 1911 Threepence. This is my only 1911 proof, but this one has some nice toning, and mirrored fields.
It is somewhat difficult to photograph, but there is a rainbow tone on both sides, predominantly the obverse around ‘OMN’.
Sorry not a coin but recently added this medal to my collection with a pretty colored patina.
I guess its not in the catalogue so will add it soon.
If you like coins, medals and tokens with ship motives follow my new instagram account with regular updates @numisnautiker
From time to time I sell some coins on Ebay make sure to follow me @apuking on Ebay.
Here’s that Proof Set quarter I mentioned in the other thread
Along with that toned ASE I snagged. You can see the scratches on the toning down on the sun. Doesn’t hurt it much for me to care, though. This one’s gonna go in the stack, and I’m gonna snag a 2021 to use as my pocket piece
Here’s that Proof Set quarter I mentioned in the other thread
Along with that toned ASE I snagged. You can see the scratches on the toning down on the sun. Doesn’t hurt it much for me to care, though. This one’s gonna go in the stack, and I’m gonna snag a 2021 to use as my pocket piece
That quarter is lovely, the blue toning is very cool. A lovely cameo effect too.
The toning on the silver eagle is very attractive, I quite like how it is around the sun, as pointed out already.
very different: Got today and quite happy about it, a swedish billon (,194 Ag according to our catalog) 1 öre 1716, in my estimation uncleaned, natural tone.
very different: Got today and quite happy about it, a swedish billon (,194 Ag according to our catalog) 1 öre 1716, in my estimation uncleaned, natural tone.
Nice pickup! I’d be happy too adding that to my collection.
Been retaking photographs of my collection using a Lighthouse Magic Frame and a rig made of Legos to ensure consistency in each and every shot (ah, the moment a few weeks ago when I was walking and suddenly got that fully random idea lol) and figured I'd make another contribution to this topic with a couple nice-looking mid-19th century US types, the half dime being an APMEX purchase and the cupronickel cent was apparently found in a cash register somehow by my manager during my brief time working at Dollar Tree XD
1863 Indian Head cent:
1872 Seated Liberty half dime:
And a bonus pic taken at an earlier time showcasing thems colors on that cent's shield…
Just snagged this Morgan for less than melt. Can’t wait to see how it looks in direct sunlight, it’s been cloudy out so I haven’t got to yet
That looks awesome, I love the original look! I think direct sunlight will definitely do it some good. Well done on getting it for less than melt as well, it is always nice to get a good deal on silver and gold.
Here are a few more toned Canberras. I absolutely love the look of these ones, especially the darker-toned one. Both coins are in quite high states of preservation - which is typical for this type - showing steps up to (Old) Parliament House.
Those are interesting. I like the look of the bottom left one. How did you artificially tone them?
Artificially toned coins are definitely not one of my collecting interests, but I did receive this US dime in a bulk lot years ago, which I found the colours to be kind of interesting.
I got this and similar looking ones from a money box that was hidden behind a wardrobe for at least 20+ years. N#11100
I do really like the pink and orange colours on this one!
That is one reason I think toned coins are popular amongst some collectors - you know a coin likely hasn’t been touched by cleaning, polishing, etc if it has developed a nice patina like yours.
